Needing big efforts from its entire group Friday afternoon, the Shawnee State softball program received just that as the Bears received a four-hit complete gamer from Cassie Schaefer inside the circle to start the day with a 3-0 win over Pikeville, then finished off Friday's festivities with a bang in Game 2, rallying from a 5-2 deficit by scoring five unanswered runs before hanging on for a 7-6 victory over UPike in a Mid-South Conference doubleheader held in Portsmouth.
Shawnee State, who posted 19 hits between the two affairs, made one critical play after another in coming out with two key Mid-South Conference victories. The Bears have now won their last three conference and overall affairs.
Game 1
Schaefer throws second straight gem
Needing another big effort from their ace pitcher, Shawnee State certainly received a top-notch showing from Cassie Schaefer.
The freshman from nearby Notre Dame High School, who scored her second career victory -- and her first in MSC competition -- after throwing a complete game five-hitter against Cumberland (Tenn.) last Friday, bettered her effort against Pikeville, notching a complete-game four-hitter to score her second straight win in the circle and her third overall.
In the contest, Schaefer effectively showcased excellent control, throwing 66 of her 93 pitches for strikes in the complete game effort. The 5-4 pitcher forced 12 flyouts, forcing Pikeville to leave eight runners on base in the first contest.
Armstrong breaks game open in fifth
Dovetailing Schaefer's strong effort, Sunetrius Armstrong extra base hit in the fifth frame of play also proved to be a difference-maker.
Needing extra run support with Kalle Coleman's sacrifice fly RBI in the third frame of action being the only salvo in the contest, Armstrong came up large in a big situation.
With two down in the bottom half of the fifth inning, a double steal by Coleman and Ashton Rankin, which put the duo in scoring position, proved to be all that Armstrong needed to drive both runners home as the North Canton, Ohio native's two-RBI double to left put SSU up by a 3-0 margin -- which Shawnee State held the rest of the way.
Armstrong finished the afternoon going 2-for-6 with a double, three RBI and a run scored between the two affairs.
Game 2
Ray, Rankin continue scorching slugging
Throughout the last three weeks, Kylie Ray and Ashton Rankin have delivered in key run-producing situations for Shawnee State. The duo did more of the same again in Game 2, beginning the affair with a bang as Ray, who singled to center and stole second, scored on Rankin's RBI double. Rankin also ended up finishing 2-for-6 on the day between both games.
Ray then came back up to bat in the second inning and produced an RBI single that scored Faith Brown -- who led off the second frame with a single of her own -- as Shawnee State took an early 2-0 advantage.
When Pikeville answered back with five unanswered runs via RBI singles by Sophie Kluesner and Alysha Bolling, along with a two-RBI base knock from Katelyn Byrd and a homer from Alyssa Franklin -- all between the third through fifth frames of action -- to take a 5-2 lead, SSU, again, stormed back with a vengeance behind Ray.
Following a single and a stolen base by Coleman to kick things off, Armstrong then drove Coleman in with an RBI single, then was followed by Brown and Aleeya Adkins who added in two base knocks of their own.
Following an error that scored Armstrong, Ray made UPike pay dearly for the miscue as her single to straightaway center field scored both Brown and Adkins to give SSU a 6-5 advantage after five innings of work -- with Shawnee State erasing Pikeville's three-run lead in one half-inning.
Coleman adds big fly to total
Giving Shawnee State a huge boost with some added insurance in the sixth inning, Kalle Coleman took a 2-2 pitch over the left center field fence to push SSU's lead to a 7-5 margin in the sixth inning.
The solo home run -- which proved to be especially big as the game entered its closing stages -- was Coleman's sixth of the year. The junior went 3-for-7 with the homer, two RBI and three runs scored between the two contests against Pikeville while hitting in the three-hole in both contests.
Ray caps off outstanding day with gem from outfield
Despite Shawnee State's two-run lead that SSU carried to the final inning, Pikeville made sure that the advantage wasn't safe. In fact, the margin proved to not be safe by a long shot.
With a leadoff walk, an error and an intentional walk, Pikeville managed to load the bases with just one out in the frame. Faith Brown -- working in relief of Game 2 starter Sydney Spence -- got a big second out by striking out Erin Bolen, but when Haley Osborne singled to center field, the game looked destined to go to extra innings.
Ray, however, didn't allow that scenario to come to fruition. Despite Osborne successfully driving in courtesy runner Natalie Joyce, Ray fired a perfect throw to SSU catcher Laiken Rice, who fielded the throw cleanly and tagged the second runner coming in behind Joyce, Megan Claypool, as the latter attempted to slide into home plate to preserve the victory in an exciting 7-6 finish.
In Game 2 alone, Ray went 4-for-4 with three RBI, a run scored and the game-saving assist at home plate. She went 5-for-7, total, on the day with the three Game 2 RBI and two runs scored.
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By pitching three successful innings in Game 2, Faith Brown was able to obtain the first win of her Shawnee State career in relief. Brown also helped her own cause by going 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the contest.
Shawnee State will take on Pikeville in another two-game set that begins at 11 a.m. Saturday morning in Portsmouth.
For more information on SSU Bears Athletics, visit www.ssubears.com or visit the Twitter and Facebook pages at https://twitter.com/SSUBears and https://www.facebook.com/SSUBears. For more information on how to join the SSU Bear Club or for sponsorship of specific SSU players or events, visit https://givetossu.com/bear-club and https://givetossu.com/sponsorthebears.
